My academic interestcentres on comparative and international political economy with emphasis on the policies and politics of welfare state change in historical perspective. My research to date has discussed the notion of welfare productivism as conceptual backdrop for comparing recent social policy reforms in OECD/EU countries. Most recently, I have been involved in research examining the impact of family cash benefits and services on child well-being and discussing inequality in child well-being in OECD/EU countries. My current research programme adapts these different interests to the study of Greater China and East Asia.

Specifically in Hong Kong, my research spans across various social policy issues over the life course: I have examined the social gradient in multi-dimensional child well-being, the experiences of young people with changing school-to-work transitions, the effects of available working family support on gendered labour market outcomes, and the effects of zero pillar pensions on poverty alleviation and coverage rates among the elderly.

I worked as external collaborator for the Social Security Department at the International Labour Organisation in Geneva, the Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris and – most recently – the Unicef Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy.